The New Tech Ed

Tech Ed has filled a unique role in Vermont for the last several decades. It has meant woodshop, metal shop, STEAM (Science Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) and several other things depending on what year it was. Many schools still have tech ed programs, while many of them have dwindled, lost their career focus or been eliminated entirely with even fewer addressing 21st century skills in a high school setting. Tech Ed in Vermont stands on its own, with almost no connection to the Career and Technical Education System (CTE). Tech Ed should be part of the CTE pathway and right now it is not, though at many schools it is left to fill pre-tech CTE void for schools that do not have programs for the 9th or 10th grade years. Even with its critical role these programs stand on their own , and are not equipped to support students. Tech Ed ’22 will create a curriculum that reestablishes what has been lost, and modernizes it for the 21st century. This project will work to create a cohesive experience that begins in 7th grade with a specific focus through 10th grade for those who will attend CTE centers and 12th grade for those that remain at their high schools. Tech Ed ’22 will be created with all students in mind and it will allow for them to more effectively explore careers through real industry standard hands-on education from trade, technical, STEAM and other fields. Tech Ed ’22 is a 3-point project, first to continue the work on building an exemplar program at Otter Valley Union High School, second to take a census of the status of tech ed programs in Vermont and third to create a model/ model curriculum. Tech Ed ’22 will give students a way to better engage and take pride in their education through an industry connected hands-on curriculum that acknowledges heritage, builds on success, identifies impediments and creates unique solutions that will serve our students as they search for their place in a 21st century workforce.

To see the Otter Valley CPP Cohort model, click here.